Hitch bar ground clearance

I'm attaching my 3023 to a Lexus RX300, though I don't think it makes a diff what the vehicle is. I have a Reese WD hitch 1,200/12,000.

The TM hitch ball is only about 12" from the ground, and when I mount the Reese, the bottom of the hitch and the draw bar is only about 3-4" from the ground. The design of the Reese has the spring bars much lower than the ball.

This seems low enough to hit the ground when I go over speed bumps or even a driveway grade... kinda scary.

Anyone have experience with this? Any options?

Sorry if I was unclear about the clearance... I have 3" to 4" clearance (not 3/4&quot. Still that seems low.

What's a "lift kit" and where do I find them?

Thanks

You can get the lift kit from TM, it goes on the axle of the trailer. However TC is right, something is wrong here, big time.

Your trailer should ride as near level front to rear as possible. If your hitch is as low as you say I suggest you get an adjustable ball mount so that you can get that hitch up. These things are carried by most trailer shops and are the standard now a days. It use to be that each one had to be custom welded, now you can by an adjustable one.

[G-V_Driver]

Ditto here. When I attached the TM with the lift kit to the Suburban, I had to raise the ball mount at least two inches to get the trailer to pull in a level attitude. And I can't imagine trying to negotiate curbs and cuts without the lift kit. Corner jacks can become a casualty otherwise.

19" sounds a lot more reasonable than the 12" to 13" I have now. Sounds like I need to add the lifts, but even with them, it doesn't seem like I'll get more than 16". But that may be enough... certainly better.

Hmmm... guess I'm not being clear. Yes. I DO want to raise the TM (not the tow bar). My guess, and after talking with TM staff) is 2 things...

1- '87 model TMs actually were lower to the ground.
2- the springs have simply got tired and it's even lower than it was originally.

I have only 8" from ground to the bottom of the frame. The hitch lock is at 12".

I dont have any problem getting the ball on my vehicle to go that low... its just that the WD springs are about 5" below the ball on the hitch.

[mjlaupp]

skoegler,
Does your TM have leaf springs or torsion springs? I think the older Tm's including the '87 models had leaf springs. If so, you can buy a set of rear axle lift blocks (kit) from your local auto parts store. They come with new longer u-bolts and just bolt in between the axle and spring.
MJL

[Bill]

I have to agree with Texas_Camper - the FIRST thing you need to do is get the hitch ball up to a reasonable height. If you don't, it will drag at every opportunity. Whenever it drags, it puts tremendous stress on the entire hitch assembly (including the hitch receiver on your Lexus), and after a while, the welds will come apart and you will lose your trailer!

I have the same (or very similar) Reese WD hitch. It is easy to raise the ball height. Quoting from the Reese web site under "Weight Distributing Ball Mounts":

"* All REESE adjustable hitch bars can be used in raised or dropped position." Just flip it over and use it in the raised position. Your hitch probably looks like the one shown in the page below, which is from the Reese manual.

Once you have raised the hitch ball, the SECOND thing you will want to do is raise the trailer frame and body with a lift kit. As has been pointed out, a lift kit will not raise the axle, but as long as you stay on paved roads, that's not really a concern. What is of concern is that when you raise the front end of the trailer, the rear end will drop and you will start dragging the rear bumper. This is annoying, but not nearly as damaging or catastrophic as dragging the hitch assembly. And a lift kit will take care of it.

PLEASE don't drive around with the hitch assembly only 3-4" off the ground. It would make you a menace to everyone else on the road, as well as yourself.

Bill

Bill provided a good graphic, but go to the following web site for the rest of the story:

http://www.reeseprod.com/support/sup...fs/66006IN.pdf

What this will show (especially page 2) is measuring the height of the ball coupler, the ball mount, and most important to your problem description, the clearance from the trunnion bar tip to the ground. Figure 1 in their installation shows this as distance "Y." The smallest this should be dependent on ball coupler type with a coupler height of 15 - 18 " is 4 1/2 to 5 1/2". As already suggested, if your coupler height is 19", and the same for the ball height, then the bar clearance becomes 5.5 to 6.5 inches.

The Reese instructions are pretty self-explanatory. There are a couple of things that are almost absolutes -- the ball height & the coupler height should be the same. If you're down to 12", I agree with Bill, the ball needs to come up.

Ed